Background: Active participation of patients in their care is important for ensuring safe and high quality healthcare. However, the operationalisation of patient participation is complex and acute care environments have characteristics that place significant barriers to achieving patient engagement. Strategies to enhance patient capability and opportunity for participation in care are required. A cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) of an intervention to enhance patient participation following Total Hip Replacement surgery using the clinician-led, multimedia ‘MyStay’ has been designed to measure the effect of engagement on postoperative pain, patient satisfaction and inpatient length of stay. An essential component of the study is successful implementation of the intervention.
Methods: The implementation strategy to be used is underpinned by the PARiHS Knowledge Translation Framework that includes support from organisational leaders, addressing local contextual barriers and providing ongoing support to facilitate implementation at the bedside. All nurses in the participating wards will be invited to engage in mini-workshops in small groups of six to learn about the MyStay program, navigate through the system and model how to engage patients in their care using MyStay and interact with patients about their goals of recovery.
Conclusion: The findings of this element of the randomised trial will inform the process evaluation component of the trial. More broadly the findings will contribute to the literature related to the impact of interventions designed to improve patients’ capability and opportunity for participation in post-operative recovery.